He played the role of Tom (the owner of the Leaky Cauldron) in Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, and has appeared in several music videos, including Roots Manuva's "Too Cold", McFly's "It's All About You" (for BBC Comic Relief), Phoenix Foundation's "Thames Soup", and Letlive's "Banshee".

Tavaré eventually branched out into stand-up comedy with a unique act which featured his double bass, an instrument he had learned to play during his childhood.

Following an appearance at the Montreal Just For Laughs festival, CBS commissioned a special episode of the American series Wings based on and written entirely around his comedy act.

Tavaré co-wrote and appeared in the BAFTA-winning ITV series The Sketch Show,[3] alongside Lee Mack, Tim Vine, Ronni Ancona, Karen Taylor, and Kitty Flanagan.

He appeared in the fifth series of the David Duchovny comedy-drama Californication as an English butler to a hip-hop mogul played by Wu-Tang Clan frontman RZA.